Worthington Lake Care Home in Wigan is leading the way in dementia care since opening its doors at the end of March.
The home is using the very latest mobile technology to care for its residents within the new-build facility that was designed following a two-year study with Stirling University to create a home specifically for residents with dementia.
Worthington Lake has implemented Person Centred Software’s new ‘Who I Am’ capability as part of Mobile Care Monitoring, an advanced electronic care planning, monitoring and reporting system. The ‘Who I Am’ feature on mobile gives carers vital information about residents’ routines, their life story and wishes and helps the carer to deliver a responsive and personalised quality of care.
Ann Sheward, the home manager says, “Rather than use traditional paper systems, we chose Person Centred Software’s system because it allows care staff to write and access fully personalised care plans.
Staff can record care in real-time on the mobile device and all the information they need to deliver personalised care is available at the touch of a button. These personalised routines are vital when caring for those with dementia as it helps residents to maintain their daily functions and minimise their anxiety.”
To care for patients with the dementia, the care home will have a uniquely high staff to resident ratio with one staff member to every three residents, rather than the average of one staff member to six residents. This helps to create a personalised experience for those living with dementia and improves their wellbeing. At full occupancy, Worthington Lake will care for 32 residents and employ 35 to 40 staff.
The research with Stirling University led Worthington Lake to design everything with the resident in mind. For example, the indoor and outdoor spaces are designed to be secure and allow residents to have unrestricted access to wherever they want to go independently but not to get disorientated. The living accommodation is also designed around ‘households’ to strip away any institutional aspects of care.
Worthington Lake is part of Millennium Care that has eight care homes across Lancashire.
